The bio of Harvey Rissmiller was very interesting to me. I knew Harvey from his attendance at the meetings of the Reading Coin Club which I also attended. I lived in Phoenixville. The Reading club, founded in 1940, was the only coin club outside of Philadelphia in that area.

I remember him as an elderly man, thin, and not too tall. He always wore a rather thread-bare suit. He always sat up in the front of the club. I was told that he often traveled to New York to buy gold. I remember thinking that if people there saw that plainly dressed old man, they'd never think his pockets were full of gold coins.

It was quite a surprise to see Rissmiller's selling price list. I do not remember ever seeing any of his publications for sale.

I joined the Reading Coin Club in the early 1950s while still in high school. They would start with a short business meeting, then get right to the main event, the coin auction. the auction was extensive, sometimes lasting up to two hours. It was a great place for a beginning collector like my self. I bought common date Indian Head Cents for 3 cents each, circulated Columbian Half Dollars for 60 cents each. and so on.

Rare coins did not come up too often, but sometimes they did. I bought an 1864 3 Dollar gold piece for $35, but sold it for a $5 profit the same evening. Also I once bought an 1804 VG+ 1804 Quarter Dollar. The best buy I ever made was once when an estate was sold at the club. I bought a 1922 plain Lincoln cent red condition for $8.

I remember that Rissmiler would rarely bid. Probably he was a consignor, selling off excess stock, although I am not sure of that. I never went to Rissmiller's store. I was friendly with another dealer in the club, Cyrus Rhode who had a store on N. 6th Street. After I finished school, and started working, I bought many great coins from him. I could tell a lot of stories about Rhode.